In Qingcheng, East Palace, Zhongjing, the shallow scars on Helian Changji's face looked a bit ferocious. They were left at Hanjian Villa. No matter how the imperial doctors tried, they could not remove the scars that had already formed.
"Hall Master Pan, where are they now?" Helian Changji asked the Tutang Hall Master for the second time.
Pan Shuzhi, who seemed to have been awake for several nights, said: "Your Highness, the reconnaissance cavalry reported the day before yesterday that they had penetrated Luzhou and were crossing Saiyin Mountain. Two days have passed and they are probably about to cross the East Gobi!"
"Is there any news from Father?" Helian Changji, who was pacing back and forth, asked Yu Qingdu, the leader of Xiangshui Hall.
"As soon as the oral order arrives, His Majesty will divide 10,000 troops to immediately return to the defense. In addition, the order to quickly reduce the 10,000 troops stationed in Bohai to assist Anzhou has also been sent!" Yu Qingdu said.
"How can ten thousand be enough? We have to bring all those heavy armored infantry back!" Helian Changji said anxiously. In order to break through the Shanhaiguan city defense, Helian Qingfeng even used the three thousand heavy armored infantry stationed in Qingcheng, which are currently stationed there.
There are only 2,000 heavy armored troops left in Qingcheng.
"Mujun has a city to defend, and it is a place where the enemy must pass. The Bohai garrison should be able to arrive two days early. His Majesty said that as long as he holds on for three days, He Qizhou, who has no food and grass, will retreat eastward.
At that time, after he has captured Shanhaiguan, he will personally lead his troops northward and take Baicheng directly. His Majesty asks you not to panic, but to first find a way to recruit soldiers from among the people in the city."
"That's all we can do. I'd like to trouble you two adults to organize manpower to reinforce Mu County." Helian Changji sighed. Recruiting troops from the capital is easy said, but hard to do.
Because he failed in Hanjian Villa and forced the entire villa to rebel, Helian Changji was severely punished by Helian Qingfeng after returning to the capital. The real power he controlled was weakened, and he almost didn't take it away.
The position of crown prince.
The order Helian Qingfeng brought was to recruit troops to strengthen the city's defense, and it would not cause panic in the city. But in recent years, almost all those who could be recruited have been recruited, and there are so many powerful people in Beijing. If they continue to recruit troops, they will unfortunately offend those royal relatives and nobles.
, not to mention a few princes who were eyeing her with covetous eyes and obstructed her.
Therefore, after two days, Helian Changji only recruited thousands of old and weak men, which was of little use to the city defense. If he wanted to reinforce Mu County, it was even more impossible. Helian Changji
Ji now hopes that the Anzhou Army and Pan Shuzhi who have returned from the Bohai Sea can guard the northern barrier of Mu County!
…
"National Master, are you really going to Wuchuan? You are Goshawk's senior brother, why should you listen to him?" said an old man in a python robe in the old palace of Tongwan City in Xijing of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Although half of our troops have been transferred here, most of the defenders in Southern Qi have also been transferred to Tuyuhun. No one will threaten Tongwan City. I didn't go to Wuchuan to give Goshawk face.
Let's go and solve a problem that must be solved!" After Wu Shi dropped a sentence, he ignored the prince in Tongwan City, took a few disciples, flew out of the city, and headed towards Wuchuan, which was thousands of miles away.
Run to town!
…
Mu City, the governor of Mu County in Anzhou, has fallen into panic. Even if the 10,000 troops returning from Bohai Kingdom have arrived on the defensive, they still cannot stop the wealthy families from fleeing south.
The news of King Mu's death in battle has long been heard. Now the powerful people are asking for news every day about where the terrible white-robed army has arrived. Every time they receive new news, the army has advanced hundreds of miles, along the way.
Almost all the powerful people in the counties could not escape the fate of being robbed, so even the calmest wealthy families became nervous and fled to the capital with their families and Xinruan.
This made He Lianpeng, the captain of ten thousand men who had just returned from the Bohai Sea, a little angry. If this continues, the people will be scattered and the military morale will be lost. How can we defend the city? So one day after his family moved to Zhongjing, he and Pan Shuzhi, the master of Tutang Hall, awarded the
Order: Close the city!
He Lianpeng is the younger brother of He Lianxing, the king of Mu County. Helian Qingfeng has made a promise that as long as he defends Mu City for three days, he will inherit the position of the county king. Therefore, He Lianpeng is working hard to win the battle.
This battle!
Helianpeng relied not only on his thousands of cavalry soldiers, but also on the cities built on the mountains. Except for some passes in the far south, there was almost no decent city in the hinterland of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, but Mu City was an exception.
, several emperors regarded the grassland tribes north of Yinshan Mountain as a great hidden danger, including even King Culun who was sent to rule those tribes!
If the enemy wants to bypass this city and attack Qingcheng, they will have to walk at least half a month! This will give Qingcheng enough preparation time.
Mu City is backed by mountains on one side and built on three sides. The city is five feet high. Its majesty and solidity are second only to Tongwan City in Xijing. The single wall of Qingcheng in Zhongjing cannot be compared with it!
There were originally 80,000 soldiers and civilians in the city, but the army has been sent to various places, and now there are only 3,000 city defenders and 10,000 people brought back by Helianpeng.
He Lianpeng was not satisfied with this number of people, so he began to recruit soldiers from among the people in the city. Unfortunately, almost all those who could serve as soldiers have been recruited in the past two years, and now there are only two places where he can use his brains.
: Anzhou Zhongzhou Sect and Liangxian Sect!
All places in the Northern Zhou Dynasty offered a reward of 100,000 taels to He Qizhou, but only one place offered a reward of 110,000 taels, and that place was Mu City. The extra 10,000 taels were given by Lian Kang, the head of the Zhongzhou faction. He had a pair of sons.
After mysterious disappearance, Lian Kang made inquiries from all directions and learned that He Qizhou had impersonated Lian Wen, so he decided to kill He Qizhou as something he must complete in the rest of his life.
"General, are you really sure that the leader of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty is He Qizhou?" In the spacious living room of the Zhongzhou faction, Lian Kang welcomed He Lianpeng's personal visit.
"It's absolutely true!" Helianpeng said with certainty.
"Okay! I sent two hundred people from Zhongzhou, all at the command of the general!" Lian Kang didn't care about what his disciples thought, so he agreed immediately, much more than what the other party asked for!
An hour later, He Lianpeng appeared in the living room of the Liangxian Sect again, with the same request to recruit hundreds of people, but Ling Qian, the master of the Liangxian Sect, had a very troubled face: "General Helian, our sect has already completed this year's recruitment.
Share, most of the remaining ones are young, it doesn’t seem appropriate to let them go into battle against the enemy, right?”
"Master Ling, you can be regarded as a prominent figure in this city. Now that a disaster is approaching, what share are you talking about? If the Eastern Zhou Army is allowed to enter the city, all the property will be looted. Only by going all out can we save everyone's lives.
Family business. Lian Kang has sent all his disciples to join the battle, why are you still struggling?" He Lianpeng said angrily.
If Lian Kang had not been mentioned, Ling Qian might have made some concessions, but when he mentioned the name Lian Kang, Ling Qian became angry and said: "I don't have much family property, and His Majesty's 20% recruitment requirement has already been met at the beginning of the year."
Done, please come back, General."
The Ling family is a prominent family in Mu County. As the head of the family, Ling Qian is unlikely to send his disciples, who are mostly his own children, to the city. Moreover, the refugees who continue to pour into the city also bring more news: the enemy's blizzard is only
Rob those who are unkind because of their wealth! The Ling family is not rich and has a good reputation in the city. They are unlikely to be targeted by the opponent and may even receive relief. Therefore, they are even less likely to take the lead in resisting the enemy.
Ling Qian was originally a disciple of the Anzhou Zhongzhou Sect. As the eldest disciple, he had great hope of inheriting the position of gang leader. However, after a long trip, the old gang leader died mysteriously. On his deathbed, he passed the position of gang leader to his second junior brother Lian Kang.
Ling Qian knew that his junior brother had evil intentions, and those who proved his master's last words were all disciples of Lian Kang, so he doubted the cause of his master's death. However, there was no evidence, and later he couldn't help but Lian Kang and Helian's family, who was bent on making money.
He broke away from the Zhongzhou Sect and established his own Liangxian Sect. Over the past few years, relying on low academic qualifications and an upright family tradition, he gradually replaced the Zhongzhou Sect and became one of the best sects in Anzhou.
He Lianpeng didn't care about the dispute between the two families. When he saw Ling Qian flatly rejected his proposal, he said angrily: "Fat Ling! You two are the only ones with some fighting ability in the city. If you don't want to defend yourself from the enemy, how could you still want to?"
Collaborating with the enemy?"
Ling Qian also had a bad temper, and couldn't help but said angrily: "General Helian, please tell me which king's law Ling has violated? Your whole family has run away, why should we go to the city to die?"
"You're looking for death! Here comes -" He Lianpeng slapped the table and was about to get angry when a man suddenly broke in outside the door and shouted: "Dad! Let's go defend the city!"
…
He Qizhou, who was rushing forward with the wind, thought that it would not be too difficult to walk more than a hundred miles in a day. It was indeed so at the beginning. The army passed by, the wind and clouds were rolling, and there was sporadic resistance at the beginning. Later, when he heard the sound of the blizzard,
Daimyo, even in counties not on the march route, there were officials who fled with wealthy families.
The feeling of being invincible and freely galloping on the grassland seems to make every warrior feel that he is the master of the world.
Three days later, after entering Luzhou, the population began to become sparse, and the terrain was mostly desert Gobi. The "blizzard" not only encountered a real blizzard, but also encountered two sandstorms and a rare hail!
On the unprotected ground, the largest egg-like ice beads smashed to death and injured dozens of horses. Fortunately, the soldiers relied on their shields and weapons to prop up their weapons and were not seriously injured. But the bad weather seriously hindered their efforts.
The marching speed could only cover dozens of miles a day.
After climbing over the uninhabited Saiyin Mountain and passing through the barren Eastern Gobi, there was not much food and grass left. Relying on the capture of Hatan County in Anzhou, the team was able to breathe a little and headed straight for Qingcheng with only enough food and grass for two days.
North Gate - Mucheng!
Regarding the situation in Mu City, Ling Su described it in detail several times. At most, there were 20,000 troops stationed inside and outside the city. The fortified city was enough to withstand the fierce attack of 50,000 cavalry.
He Qizhou knew that it was not easy to siege the city. The troops attacked lightly and did not bring any siege equipment. He began to worry after leaving Hatan County. He was not afraid that he would not be able to take the city, but that he would suffer too many casualties. After walking nearly two thousand miles together,
He had developed a brotherly relationship with those seven thousand warriors. Every time he saw someone injured or killed, He Qizhou would always feel inexplicable heartache. This chapter has been completed!